Kitchen, Curtains, and Carrot Cake

It's time for PICTURES!!! First, my beautiful bathrooms. They're a bit bare, and needing accessories, but still. Just having themes for each is more than I've ever had!

The boys/guest bathroom...

My Mom called it the Bollywood bathroom :)

And MY bathroom...

I am madly in love with my bathroom. I have always loved blue-and-white prints, and this feels so luxurious to me!! *happy dance*

Our patio, my new food-photography studio...

My (ahem, our) new computer desk!! Our first real furniture purchase together in our whole marriage!!

Love love love. 

And of course, last but by NO means least... My Kitchen.

I still can't quite believe it. It looked lots smaller in the online pictures!! Forget looking for a house, maybe we'll have to just stay here.

To celebrate the gorgeousness of this kitchen, I decided to attempt something brand new: Carrot Cake. I have never made a carrot cake, can you believe it?! This recipe is (mostly) from my Mom's best friend when we lived in Colorado, Cherie Haaland. She was our neighbor for the first stay, and has been a family friend ever since. She had lived in England, and was the most elegant person I had ever met at the age of 12. She had dishes and furniture from England, books, recipes, clothes... That was about when my obsession really took off. There was also a gorgeous garnet velvet chaise that I wanted soooo bad... and still do...

Carrot Cake (adapted from Cherie Haaland)

Printable Recipe

3 c flour
3 c sugar
1 t salt
1 T b. soda
1 T cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 c oil
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 T vanilla
1 1/2 c shredded coconut
5-6 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1-2 inch chunks
3/4 c crushed and drained pineapple
1 cup walnuts/pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and/or line two 9 inch springform or -sided cake pans. Whisk flour, sugar, salt, soda,and spices together in a large bowl. 

In a blender or food processor, combine the oil, eggs, carrots, pineapple, and coconut. Blend till smooth.

Add the carrot mixture to the dry ingredients, and mix well. 

Pour into prepared cake pans, and bake 45-50 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely before frosting. 

Frosting:

1 8 oz package cream cheese, room temperature

6 Tb butter, room temperature

3 cups powdered sugar

juice of 1/2 lemon

2 tsp vanilla

Cream butter and cheese together. Add liquids. Slowly add sugar until fully mixed. Frost your cake!

Okay, this is probably the most unattractive cake I have ever made. It's not the recipe's fault! It's mine, I messed up the frosting, and used the wrong pans! :) Now, I would normally get all angry and furious and cry about my ruined cake, but apparently blogging has taught me baking perspective, because I just laughed and went with it!

Uuuuuugly!! :)

Oh well. It's what's on the inside that matters, right?

Well, how does that look? :)

Mmmmm... cream cheese awesomeness...

After I cut that slice, the frosting just pooled in the middle... *giggle*

My crazy husband who is randomly picky doesn't like the teeny bit of lemon in the frosting. Ha!

This is sweet, spicy, toothsome carrot cake at it's best. You still get little bits of carrots to chew, but the cake holds together much better without all those big chunks!

 Stephen doesn't like it. I do. You will too. I hope the boys can help me finish it!! Hooray for a new kitchen!